Classic Movie Articles

Autograph Collecting - Buyer Beware

by John Reid

January 2002

The Truth about Autographs

Before I get into the nitty gritty of autograph collecting and
dealing I want to give you some background on why anyone should listen to my
opinion. I rarely sell to the public, but I have been a wholesaler of genuine
"in person" autographs to a number of large retail outlets for many years. I
have sold thousands of autographs in this way ranging from Cary Grant to Brad
Pitt. My sources have been very reliable and I can authenticate all of the
material I sell. I do not sell any "autographs" that have been obtained through
the mail. Because I am a wholesaler, I do not attract or look for publicity. I
have a steady market and I am content with that. The following comments will not
be popular with many autograph dealers but they represent the real story that is
rarely expressed in the industry. I think it is important that the dark side of
the business is exposed. It is unfortunate that the questionable practices of
many dealers damages the credibility of the hobby and the honest dealers. .

Autographs obtained through the mail

The reason I do not sell autographs that have been obtained
through the mail is that I believe a huge percentage of those that are sold as
genuine are clearly secretarial. There are a number of dealers who have teams of
workers who send letters to hundreds of celebrities. They use a number of
different PO Boxes and basically pose as genuine collectors. They receive a
great many responses - ranging from signed index cards to signed photos and then
sell these as genuine autographs. Now, you really don't need to be a brain
surgeon to work out that celebrities receive a huge number of requests for their
signature. The more famous the celebrity the more requests. I spoke to Chris
O'Donnell recently and he told me that he had no way of keeping up with the
demand. Think of the mail Tom Cruise would receive. Can you really imagine that
these celebrities sign everything that is asked of them? You would have to be
incredibly naive to think that that is the case. It is more likely that many of
the responses are secretarial or autopen or printed signatures - basically
signed by someone other than the star in a manner that looks genuine .

So how can you determine if they are genuine or not?

Of course it is true that some stars genuinely sign some
material through the mail. The problem is that if you did not see the star sign
the item there is no way you can be 100% certain that the signature is genuine.
Staff of various celebrities become extremely skilled at signing autographs.
This is where the dealers come in. Many dealers are quite happy to provide a
Certificate of Authenticity for an "autograph" that has been obtained through
the mail. They argue that they have years of experience in authentication and
that they can tell a genuine autograph from a secretarial version. That's how
they make money. The fact is that in most cases it is impossible to be certain
that an autograph is genuine unless it was obtained "in person". It is, however,
very easy to provide a C of A and pass a questionable signature off as genuine.
The truth is that any dealer who obtains signatures through the mail should
NEVER provide a C of A. .

Autograph Magazines and periodicals

There are a number of publications where dealers can advertise
and where the hobby of autograph collecting is discussed. Articles providing
information on addresses of celebrities and events where celebrities have signed
appear. There are tasteless exposes on the best signers and the worst signers as
if celebrities have a contractual obligation to sign anything that is placed in
front of them especially when a large percentage of autograph hunters are
dealers posing as fans. Over the years these publications have listed
advertisements from hundreds of dealers advertising autographs ranging from
Lincoln to John Wayne to the Beatles. Anything is available for those who have
the money. The problem again is that many of the autographs that are offered by
dealers in these magazines are fakes. How can I be so sure of this? You need
look no further than the FBI investigation of a company which sold thousands of
fake "autographs" many of which were advertised in the prominent autograph
magazines. I became concerned when they were offering as many John Wayne
autographs as you wanted for less than the going price. I contacted one of the
magazines with my concerns and they never responded, running ads for at least a
year after my first letter raising concerns. The amount of people who were
ripped off by this unscrupulous company must be huge but I believe that the
magazines which ran the ads also carried a responsibility and that their
credibility has been scarred.

Autograph clubs and alliances

There is always a need for a hobby to have a forum or a club
where collectors can compare notes and find others who have similar interests.
The problem is that many dealers use these clubs as a form of Approval. They
list their memberships of various clubs in their advertising as if that means
something. The fact is that membership of these organisations does not mean that
the dealer is reputable, honest or trustworthy. It simply means that they are a
member of a club where membership is available to anyone who is prepared to pay
the joining fee.

Authentication

I was amused to read recently that a prominent autograph
dealer was giving courses in authentication. It is a fact that your signature
will change and evolve with time. There are times when a signature is little
more than a scrawl and times when it is discernibly different to other
occasions. It is simply impossible to determine absolutely positively that an
item is genuine or not unless you saw the act of signing. Unfortunately many
dealers who did not see the item signed "in person" are happy provide a
certificate proclaiming a "lifetime guarantee of authenticity" when they should
be saying something along the lines of "in my opinion the signature appears to
be genuine". Of course they know that the less certain they appear in the
certificate the less autographs they sell. They also know that it is hard to
challenge any opinion.

The Major Auction Houses

There are a number of auction houses that regularly have
autographs sales. Many of the items auctioned are vintage pieces where the star
or celebrity has been dead for many years. These auctions do not provide
certificates but rather use the coded phrase "some secretarial or printed
facsimile" to describe lots. This is a form of disclaimer, where they are not
being specific. It is, however, a more honest approach and generally the
autographs have been obtained from fairly reliable sources - they have some
"provenance" that gives them credibility. Of course many dealers purchase these
autographs and then resell them with Certificates that proclaim a "lifetime
guarantee of authenticity". These certificates are little more than educated
guesses.

There are some honest dealers

There are some reputable dealers who obtain their autographs
in person through hard work. They attend major events where stars and
celebrities are likely to be and are honest in selling their wares.
Unfortunately, these dealers are few and far between. The majority of dealers
sell autographs that have not been obtained "in person". They buy large
collections, they buy at auctions though the mail, etc etc. No matter how good
their intentions are the larger and more diverse their stock, the more likely it
is that there will be fakes or non genuine material sold. In many cases they
make honest mistakes but the problem lies with their Certificates. If they are
not 100% certain they should make that clear.

So what should you do?

If you are buying an autograph from any dealer there is a good
chance that it will not be genuine. That is the sad reality. You are taking a
gamble and if you cant be sure about the authenticity then what is the point of
buying? I would love to have a self portrait/caricature signature of Alfred
Hitchcock. Up until recently these items were extremely hard to obtain. Since
the introduction of eBay, they have suddenly become available on a regular
basis. It is likely that many are fakes and I am certainly not prepared to risk
my hard earned cash on something that is unlikely to be genuine. There is too
much greed in the hobby where the lure of the dollar has become irresistible to
many and the Certificate of Authenticity has become an easy umbrella to hide
under. The old axiom always applies - "Buyer Beware."